ABSTRACT
The third conflict in the former Soviet space in which Russia became active militarily was the civil war in Tajikistan. Russia was politically and militarily involved in the Tajik civil war from its inception in May 1992 and throughout the negotiations that followed. We begin this chapter with a brief historical overview of the origins and evolution of the Tajik civil war, go on to outline the involvement of Russia, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, and then identify and examine Russia’s key interests in the conflict. In the case of Tajikistan, since there was considerable agreement about what Russia’s practical interests were there was a close relationship between ideas in the debates, policies and military action on the ground. Finally, the chapter identifies and provides a chronological analysis of two stages in Russia’s debates and policies toward the conflict. Within each stage, the dominant ideas, policy positions and military actions are examined in order to establish a comprehensive analysis of the various factors at work in the crisis.
